Political Culture and Voting Systems in the United States: An Examination of the 2000 Presidential Election: Brian L. Fife: Praeger

Political Culture and Voting Systems in the United States

An Examination of the 2000 Presidential Election

Political Culture and Voting Systems in the United States

An Examination of the 2000 Presidential Election

Description

As the 2000 presidential election suggests, the particular type of voting system employed in a given venue can impact the outcome of elections, not only within an individual state, but, as Fyfe and Miller explore, across the states as well. Yet the scholarly community has paid little attention to the nature and impact of voting systems on electoral outcomes to date.

Using Elazar's model of political culture in the American states as a logistical framework on which to build analysis of these voting systems, they indicate that culture is a fundamental variable to consider when attempting to ascertain variances between and among the states. This study will be of particular interest to scholars, students, and other researchers involved with American elections and contemporary politics and voting policy.

CONTENTSCONTENTSContents Illustrations ixAcknowledgments xi Note to the Reader xiii 1. The 2000 Presidential Election 1A Close Contest 1The Bush-Gore Legal Battle 5The Palm Beach County, Florida, Ballot 11The Consortium Report 11More Voting Issues in America 12Felons and the Franchise 12Voting in America: A States' Rights Matter 13Federalism and Political Culture: Conceptual Distinctions 182. Political Culture in America 21The Three Subcultures 22What about the District of Columbia? 26Voting Patterns in the American States 28Voting Systems in the American States 31Data Disparities 353. Analyzing the Data 43Research Hypothesis 43The Appropriate Statistical Technique 45Specification of the Model 46Interpreting the Voting Systems Results 48Summarizing the Voting Systems Results 55Political Culture and Presidential Election Outcomes 55Interpreting the Electoral Results 58Summarizing the Electoral Results 634. Implications for Democratic Theory 65The Caltech/MIT Study 65Voting Systems and the Supreme Court's Equal Protection Clause Argument 68Declining Voter Turnout in American Elections 70The Challenge of Registration 71Federalism and American Elections 74Utilization of the Federal Election Commission 75Concluding Thoughts 755. The Pendulum Swing and Voting Rights in America 77Electoral Policy Innovation and the States 78Likelihood of National Mandates for Optical Scan Equipment 82Shaping the Electoral Process in the States 85Selected Bibliography 89Index 93